The Benefits of Taking a Break These Holidays!

12 December 2019

Happy Holidays! Tis’ the season for spending time with family and maybe even taking some time away from work to recharge and reenergize for the coming year.

Although it can be difficult to unplug and take some down time – especially for busy business owners and entrepreneurs who are used to working 60, 70 or more hours a week – taking a break to rest and enjoy the holidays with your family can go a long way to ensuring you’re working at your highest potential when you return.

Here’s why.
Taking a break from work over the holidays can give you an opportunity to:

1. Learn something new – Holiday down time can be the perfect time to take a webinar or eCourse, read up on business/industry literature, or otherwise learn more. While this can broaden and strengthen your skills, it can also give you deeper insights about and a fresh perspective on your business. That, in turn, may be the key to finding more effective ways to overcome the challenges that may be holding your business back so you can take it to the next level.

2. Gain distance and see the big picture – Day to day, it can be easy to get involved in the various details of running and growing your business. That can mean that, over weeks or months of working without some time away, it can be hard to see (or remember to take stock of) the big picture. Giving yourself some physical and mental distance from the day-to-day operations and work, however, can give you the space necessary to see past the clutter of the details and really get a fresh look at the big picture (like the longer-term strategic plan and goals).

3. Come up with new ideas or innovations – With some distance from the office (and maybe even the added benefit of uninterrupted blocks of time to yourself) over a holiday break, you may have the space and time to come up a great new slogan, campaign, product, service, etc. for your brand. You may even want to chat with your loved ones about ideas or their thoughts (if you don’t already). Their insight and input can put a new light on certain issues, ideas, products, services, etc. related to your business. And that may reveal opportunities for refinement and improvement.

4. Test out new collaboration tools and programs – If you’re always in the office, directly communicating with your staff, it’s probably safe to say that you’ve had minimal (if any) need for collaboration tools. During a holiday break from the office, however, you can try out one (or more) of these tools, possibly showing you new (and maybe even better or more efficient) ways to coordinate, communicate, and/or share with your team.

5. Re-energize while letting go of some stress – Over a holiday break, you can get some more sleep, spend some more time with the people you love, practice your favorite hobbies or past-times and replenish your soul. This can translate into lower stress levels and improved health (even if the diet and exercise is put on hold over the holidays!). It can also mean that you return to work more motivated, ready to hit the ground running in the New Year.

6. Set a good example for your team – Part of being a good leader or team member is leading by example, and taking a break can set a good example for your team. It shows them that you value and respect the importance of resting and spending time with family. It also demonstrates that you have a balanced life, a life outside of work, and that they can and should as well.

The bottom line is that work and the office will still be there when you get back – and when you do get back to it, you (as well as your team and your business) will likely be better for the break!

Source : Jason DiNunno
Digitalauthority.com